PITTSBURGH: HITTING: The Pirates' two-month casual flirtation with competitiveness was cute while it lasted, before this team fizzled to a 72-win season. This team is still years away. But don't blame OF ANDREW McCUTCHEN, who might be the best all-around player in the division. Of all the ballyhooed outfielders from the 2005 draft, he's the one GMs would most want to build around. OF JOSE TABATA, not so much. He's serviceable and has plus speed, but the six-year extension the Pirates gave him was absurd. 2B NEIL WALKER has settled into a respectable place short of stardom. 3B PEDRO ALVAREZ has a lot of uphill climbing to do if he wants to wake up old expectations. He'll compete with 3B CASEY MCGEHEE for a starting role, but it's most likely that Alvarez moves to first base to back up 1B GARRETT JONES. OFs NATE McLOUTH and ALEX PRESLEY are underwhelming choices for the starting left-field spot. SS CLINT BARMES and C ROD BARAJAS would like to thank the Pirates for wildly overpaying them. STARTING PITCHING: JEFF KARSTENS looked pretty decent for much of last year. But that's what happens when you get to log 14 percent of your innings against the lowly Astros. Better teams exposed him for the replacement-level guy he is. Contrary to what a lot of bored, lazy sportswriters wanted you to believe last year, CHARLIE MORTON doesn't pitch like Roy Halladay. At all. JAMES McDONALD could still be special if he cut down his walk rate. ERIK BEDARD was a respectable signing. Even if his shoulder acts up, he cost only $4.5 million for a year. If he's healthy, he's still well above-average. KEVIN CORREIA may only be slightly more effective at striking out hitters than a batting tee, but the Pirates are grateful for the innings he eats. BRAD LINCOLN is the designated fill-in if any of the other starters get hurt (cough, Bedard). In the meantime, he's a swing man. RELIEF PITCHING: Closer JOEL HANRAHAN has been outstanding since first donning a Pirates uniform in 2009, converting 40-of-44 saves with a 1.83 ERA last season. It makes sense for the rebuilding Pirates to move him, but they'll probably keep the hand they were dealt. There isn't another qualified ninth-inning pitcher in this bullpen though. EVAN MEEK was bit by the shoulder bug. His early season was an unqualified disaster, but he turned it around and regained his form once he came back in September. He should be fully healthy again, and a quiet source of a few saves. CHRIS RESOP is another primary set-up man, but he posted a 4.39 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 2011. DANIEL McCUTCHEN won't be so lucky with his ERA this year if he doesn't lower his walk rate. He's just not a guy to put much faith in.

LA ANGELS: HITTING: SS ERICK AYBAR will likely get another crack at the leadoff spot by default. DH/OF BOBBY ABREU can still draw walks and run a little. 2B HOWIE KENDRICK traded batting average for more power last year. He's still one of baseball's better middle infield bats. 1B ALBERT PUJOLS should benefit from DH-ing a couple of times a year. OF TORII HUNTER is fading fast and may not provide middle-of-the-order power. OF VERNON WELLS has a better chance than Hunter to bounce back, and the Angels have to be patient considering his monster contract. MARK TRUMBO will get a look at 3B. If he can't get it done, ALBERTO CALLASPO would start and Trumbo would back-up first and DH. Speedy OF PETER BOURJOS will start in left, and top prospect MIKE TROUT will soon replace free agents-to-be Abreu or Hunter. KENDRYS MORALES could DH regularly if his ankle is healthy. CHRIS IANNETTA is no Mike Napoli, but he's a monster upgrade over Jeff Mathis. STARTING PITCHING: JERED WEAVER had a lot of things go right in 2011, and it's not hard to picture him as a Cy Young candidate again. But he faded late in the year, and may not belong in the upper echelon or pitchers. A cutter has led to DAN HAREN's rebirth. He's right there with Weaver, just a step behind the elite arms. C.J. WILSON may not get the same run support, but he should benefit from getting out of hitter-friendly Arlington; he had a 2.31 road ERA last year. ERVIN SANTANA never developed into a top-of-the-line starter, but he's become more consistent and settled in as a solid starter. Once a washed-out former prospect, JEROME WILLIAMS came back to the States from Taiwan and delivered three quality starts last September. He's not likely to have sustained success, but he does have the inside track for a rotation spot. Middling prospect GARRETT RICHARDS seems like the most likely candidate to step into the rotation in case of injury. RELIEF PITCHING: JORDAN WALDEN will have the closer's role again entering the spring, but while he was overpowering he was also very shaky at times. He gave up seven runs over 2.2 innings in his last three appearances. RICH THOMPSON decided to lean on his cutter last year and the results were excellent. If Walden slips up, Thompson has to be in the closer conversation. LaTROY HAWKINS was solid with Milwaukee (2.42 ERA) and joins his ninth different team since 2003. He is expected to set up Walden as well. Lefty SCOTT DOWNS was far from dominant last year, despite his 1.34 ERA. But Scioscia does trust him in high-leverage situations, making him a possible fallback if Walden struggles. The Angels don't seem to have big plans for HISANORI TAKAHASHI, the most well-compensated long reliever in baseball.

After successfully handling his first two major league starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gerrit Cole makes his first road appearance near his hometown.

The first overall pick of the 2011 draft looks to begin his career 3-0 on Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels, who hope star Jered Weaver can continue his recent interleague success and avoid a third straight loss.

Cole (2-0, 3.75 ERA) has allowed five runs and 14 hits without a walk through 12 innings after two starts. The right-hander gave up three of those runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

The southern California native is set to make his first road start in Anaheim, a short drive from where he attended high school.

"That's gonna be pretty fun," Cole told the Pirates' official website. "I hope I can go out there and keep doing what I've been doing and have the ball roll our way."

These teams have not met since 2007, but Los Angeles (33-40) is 6-3 against the Pirates, with five of those wins coming over six home contests.

Pittsburgh (43-30), however, won for the eighth time in 13 games Thursday, beating Cincinnati 5-3 to split a four-game set. Pedro Alvarez drove in all five runs with a solo homer, a bases-loaded double and a single to raise his average from .214 to .223 in a few hours.

Alvarez has six home runs and 19 RBIs over his last 17 games while batting .290.

"I just think it's repetition and getting the opportunity to go out and try to gain as much experience as I can from every day out there," said Alvarez, the team leader with 15 homers and 43 RBIs.

Weaver (1-3, 4.41) is 8-0 with a 1.91 ERA in his last 13 interleague starts, but he's never faced the Pirates and is trying to avoid losing three consecutive starts for the first time since May 2011.

The right-hander allowed two earned runs over 12 innings to go 1-0 in his first two outings after missing almost two months with a broken elbow, but he's since yielded nine runs over 11 2-3 frames. He gave up five runs and walked four in six innings of a 6-5 home loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday.

"I didn't really accomplish anything that I try to accomplish through the course of a game," Weaver said. "Walks were bad, first-pitch strikes were bad, and I obviously didn't get deep in the game. It's just one of those games where I found myself battling the whole game."

He'll try to get back on track and help the Angels build on a remarkable 10-9 victory over Seattle on Thursday. Mike Trout had four hits and Mark Trumbo hit a three-run homer for Los Angeles, which rallied from a seven-run deficit and scored seven off Mariners ace Felix Hernandez to win for the sixth time in eight contests.

The Angels trailed 9-8 in the eighth, but got a tying single from Erick Aybar and went ahead on Alberto Callaspo's bases-loaded walk with two outs.

"We just battled all night and we came out with a W," said Peter Bourjos, who went 3 for 4 with a home run. "Everybody did a phenomenal job."

Trout is batting .542 with nine walks in the last seven games, but he's 2 for 19 in his last five interleague contests.